We want the Region’s Best Dressed Men

Are you a man who understands the importance of a great-fitting suit or who doesn’t mind shopping? Do you take pride in dressing well? Would you like to be rewarded for your effort?

You can join the likes of Jay-Z, Tom Brady, Tony Parker and the Pope sort of. Those men all made Esquire’s fourth annual Best Dressed Men in the World list and although we aren’t dealing with global proportions, we are looking for the BDM in the Capital Region.

We’re not looking for the guy who cleans up nice every now and then (although we’re sure your partner appreciates it), but the guy who looks put together even when going casual. We want the man who people compliment on his wardrobe and go to for fashion advice. We want the man other men wish they were.

We know out of 325,000 men in the Capital Region, he’s there somewhere.

If you’re that guy (or if you know him), send a brief letter or e-mail telling us why we should declare you the Best Dressed Man in the Capital Region, along with a few photos clearly showing you at, well, your best.

We’ll have a team of experts narrow the field, then give a readers a look at, and a chance to vote on, the final contenders.

E-mail entries to kgustafson@timesunion.com or mail them to Kristi Gustafson, Times Union staff writer, P.O. Box 15000, Albany, N.Y. 12212. Entries must be received by 5 p.m. Friday, Sept. 28.

Come on now. A man does not have to be gay OR a metrosexual to dress well. And, well, even if he is one – or both – then that does not make him any less qualified to win our contest. We don’t care if you’re gay, straight or asexual; or of you are a metrosexual or, as they say on “According to Jim,” a flannelsexual. I know plenty of straight, nonmetrosexual guys who dress well and gay or metrosexual men who can’t put together an outfit even when trying.

Wow, bocuse… it’s not ignorant at all, it just so happend to be entirely true, that’s ME not YOU or KRISTI. Also, most of the guys I know, again, that’s guys I know, that’s ME not YOU or KRISTI, while they don’t want to look bad, don’t have access to the kind of money the guys mentioned in the post have.

You’re both taking this totally wrong… shame on you both. I didn’t say or infir that gays shouldn’t be in or couldn’t/shouldn’t win this “contest”. You did that… I just think they pay more attention to how they dress, look, and are groomed, that’s all… maybe the guys I hang out with, play softball, hockey, golf, work ect etc etc aren’t all in the right careers, working in office enviornments, but I’d say they’re a representation of the average guys. Sorry if I hurt anyones feelings, but YOU two made an incorrect assumption.

There’s absolutely nothing ignorant about that at all, it’s just MY observation.

Jay-Z? Tony Parker? Tom Brady? These guys all have “assistants” who run around buying loafers & turtlenecks for them. And you could argue that with the exception of – Jay Z (he’s too cool) – the other two are indeed metro’s.

For the record –I’m not casting judgment on metros or other feminine males, but am merely stating my observations . That being that guys who spend that much time on their “look” aren’t the guys who you’ll typically find throwing the football around on a Sunday morning…they’re too busy with their fine washables…:-)

K: I’m curious about the judging criteria… Will it purely be the subjective opinion of the judges, or will there be basic categories like: Best Pressed Slacks, Shiniest Hair, Number of suits, Best Fake Bake, etc. ???

Basically bocuse is under the impression that if you can’t afford an assistant you should not even try to look half-way decent. To even say that the “guys who spend that much time on their “look” aren’t the guys who you’ll typically find throwing the football around on a Sunday morning” is just beyond ridiculous.

If you’ve ever seen a photograph taken pre-1960, you would have noticed how almost all men wore suits on a daily basis, even those not “working in office environments.” Maybe men back then took more pride in how they looked, or maybe men today are just to afraid of being labeled the “G” word that they try to do the opposite and make themselves look bad. All I know is that women tend to appreciate a dapper gentleman, and that counts more in my book than what any male would say.

Upstate… men today are NOT afraid of being labeled nor do they try and make themselves look bad. Maybe part of it is they way you were brought up. We spent a lot of money on our kids clothes, we never liked the way some kids wore all black and/or really baggy clothes with their butts hanging out. That said, I think some younger men really pay attention to how they’re dressed and groomed. My son takes a lot of my Polo, Ralph Lauren shirts and ties and wears them to work… and he spends as much time primping in the bathroom as my wife and daughter do…

Styles have vastly changed since the 50’s/60’s. My parents and most other parents would never have spent the amount of money we do on clothes. People now are just more affluent…

There’s a huge difference between looking half way decent, which could be wearing pressed jeans and t-shirt and spending the day hanging around in a jacket trying to look like Don Johnson.
It’s all in the eye of the beholder, I guess…

I would guess that The Best Dressed man in the Capital Region would have quite an extensive wardrobe.